In Another World With a Bunch of Idiots (Konosuba + OC)

Chapter 2 - Kaito the Upstart Adventurer

"It was dark when I woke up, but I could tell it was early in the morning since the sky was beginning to turn blue. I felt strangely well-rested when I woke up, a feeling I wasn't very familiar with. I got out of my sleeping bag and stretched. That was when I heard something in the forest. Thud, thud, thud...

"I tried to see what was making the sound, but it was too dark. In my head, I thought, 'Is there a monster nearby? I thought I was close enough to town that no monsters would come by in my sleep.' I stood there listening to the sound. Thud, thud, thud... The sound was getting further away, so I grabbed the sleeping bag, turned it back into a cloak, and followed the sound into the trees.

"The sound became louder and louder as I got closer to the source. At times the sound would stop for a few seconds before starting again. As I continued to pursue the source, I noticed large toad tracks in the dirt heading in the direction of the sound. 'Looks like I already found my first kill,' I thought, 'It's my lucky day.'

"When I finally caught up to the toad I shouted at it to get it's attention... 'Hey!'

"The toad turned around when it heard me, and started heading toward my direction. I simply stood behind a tree and waited until for the toad to come close. Once it did, I just went around the tree and stabbed the toad in the back. That was one toad down. I killed the second toad in the same way: I got it's attention, lured it near a tree, and cut the toad down from behind. That was two toads down. However, when it came to the third, fourth, and fifth toad, this is where it gets interesting..."

The other adventurers at my table listened as I told my story. They wanted to know how I completed a quest in one day without a party. It seemed like it was rare among new adventurers that were just starting out, let alone on their first quest. They seemed completely invested in my story.

I continued, "...I had to take on the last three toads at once."

"You took on three toads at once?" one of the adventurers asked.

"Yep."

"How did you do that?" another asked.

"Well, I was walking around the forest looking for another toad to slay. Then I found one just standing in a clearing, basking in the sun. I tried to sneak up on the toad from behind, but when I got close, I stepped on a stick and it snapped. The toad turned to me, and I'll be honest, even though it was just a toad, it looked menacing as it looked down on me. Still, I held my ground.

"Then I heard, thud, thud, thud, coming from behind me. I took a quick glance toward the sound and I saw another toad coming towards me. I knew I couldn't defeat them while they were on opposite sides of me so I ran, and the toads gave chase. Soon, I found myself surrounded when a third toad appeared in my path up ahead. I stopped to evaluate the situation, 'Two toads behind me, one toad in front, all of them ready to swallow me whole.

"Bring it on,' I said.

"In a split-second, one of the toads behind me shot out its tether-like tongue, grabbing my right leg, but before it could pull me in, I slashed at its tongue. Then the toad in front grabbed my left arm. Again, I cut myself loose. The third toad grabbed my left leg, but this time, the toad was able to pull me in.

"Reacting quickly, I turned my sword in a shield, faced the shield in the direction of the toad, and smashed right into the toad's face. That was three toads down. Right after I landed on the ground, I charged at the toad nearby and sunk my cloak-sword into it. That was four toads down.

"The last toad tried to run, but I wasn't going to let my fifth kill get away that easily. I chased after the toad. When I caught up to it, I plunged my sword into its back, and it came to a halt. I stood triumphantly on the slain toad's back, and raised my sword high, yelling out loud, 'FIVE TOADS DOWN!'"